The DC Animated Chronicles: Batman TAS Bane

In preparation for the release of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, we are celebrating the rich history of DC Comics by detailing their characters’ history and legacy through animation. In something we’re calling, The DC Animated Chronicles.

This feature has taken a minor break, but mostly so that I could check out and review, Justice League: Throne of Atlantis. Instead of re-doing a lot of these movies at the end, I will include reviews to Justice League Flashpoint, Justice League War and Throne of Atlantis in the DC Animated Chronicles.

With that said, Bane makes his outside of comic book debut in Batman TAS!

Summary:

Batman comes face to face with his most powerful adversary yet, the chemically charged assassin, Bane. Originally hired by Rupert Thorne to kill Batman, Bane plans on taking control of Thorne’s criminal empire once Batman is destroyed. It’s a fight to the death with all of Gotham in the balance as Batman takes on the man who has vowed to break the Bat. Batman comes face to face with his most powerful adversary yet, the chemically charged assassin, Bane. Originally hired by Rupert Thorne to kill Batman, Bane plans on taking control of Thorne’s criminal empire once Batman is destroyed. It’s a fight to the death with all of Gotham in the balance as Batman takes on the man who has vowed to break the Bat.

Thoughts:

Bane’s early roles in adaptions were a bit rough. I’m sure most would love to forget his tenure in Batman and Robin (to be fair, people would just wanna forget that movie in general), but even his debut in Batman TAS wasn’t amazing. I think it’s because at the time, Bane was really known for one thing, and it’s really hard to get across his cunning and intelligence in a single episode. The issue is only compounded by the fact that Batman TAS was more of a standalone show than serial so you couldn’t have him “Break the Bat” since Batman had to be ready to go by the next episode.

That isn’t to say this episode doesn’t make Bane a looming threat, and he does get some moments to shine. But it feels like it could have been more.

Memorable Moments:

Bane is known for his extreme…juicing. But the way he is usually defeated is always so gruesome. Usually either by cutting off his supply, or overdosing him on the venom.

Just look at the face? That is a man in pain and terror, and they did this on a kid’s afterschool show…

Next up, Superman shows he isn’t the last son of Krypton with Blast from the Past 1/2.